ADC Policy Statement

ADC Policy Statement:
ADC Position on September 11 Attack and its Aftermath

The following position statement was adopted by the Board of Directors of ADC on Saturday, October 13, 2001.

AMERICAN-ARAB ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE POLICY POSITION ON THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACK AND ITS AFTERMATH OCTOBER 13, 2001

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) condemns in the strongest possible terms the brutal attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania on September 11, and extends its deepest sympathy to the victims and their families. There can be no possible justification or explanation for these vicious attacks. ADC notes that the Arab-American community, which had scores of its members working in and around the World Trade Center, was as much a target of the attack as any other group, and recognizes that the attacks targeted all Americans regardless of ethnicity and religion.

Yet, many Arab Americans and Muslim Americans have been subjected to hate crimes since September 11. We urge all Americans to follow the lead and example of President George Bush in denouncing these abuses as wholly un-American.

ADC reiterates its support for our government and fellow citizens in a focused effort to bring the guilty to justice and protect U.S. citizens against similar attacks in the future. This effort must be pursued while protecting civil liberties at home and ensuring that our actions abroad do not jeopardize the vital and broad coalition which is currently being assembled. ADC cautions against broadening the conflict or incurring civilian casualties.

At Home:

All Americans must do everything we can to support the effort to bring the guilty parties to justice, while taking care to preserve the basic civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. ADC advocates that new laws and policies intended to strengthen the authority of the government do not abridge the civil liberties or due process rights of any person. ADC is committed to working with a wide spectrum of legal experts, associations and other ethnic organizations to ensure that new laws are in conformity with basic American values and rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Abroad:

American foreign policy should be balanced, fair and based on the objective of promoting democracy and human rights in every corner of the world. It is vital that U.S. policy does not impede economic and political reforms in the Arab world, but facilitates progress and offers the Arab peoples the prospect of a brighter future. Our foreign policy needs to address outstanding issues surrounding the role of the United States in the Middle East.

Issues at the forefront of a new foreign policy must include reconsideration of the United States’:

a) Unconditional support for Israel's continued occupation of the Arab land in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, including East Jerusalem. It must put an end to Israel's ever-expanding settlement policy and use of U.S,-supplied weapons against Palestinian civilians in violation of U.S. and international law. Lasting peace in the Middle East can only be achieved by the implementation of all U.N. Resolutions including but not limited to Resolutions 194, 242 and 338. In that effort, as in the effort to combat international terrorism, the U.S. should rally the United Nations and other international institutions to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace.

b) Disregard for the plight of the Iraqi civilian population, which has endured more than a decade of sanctions that have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocents.